Windows 7: Part 2

by | Nov 17, 2009 | Tech

I just wanted to let everyone know what finally ended up happening with my Windows 7 install last week.

I ended up ripping out nearly every piece of hardware from the machine and installing it with only the single hard drive it was going onto and the DVD drive it was coming from in the box. Sure enough, as soon as I did that it started up like a champ. It installed in about 20 minutes and another 10 after that and I had updated everything through Windows Update. After that I started adding hardware back in and it found, recognized and configured everything correctly, without issue. After doing some more digging and prodding people on the technet forums it turns out that Windows 7 (and partially Vista as well) has a real nasty issue with multiple hard drives, especially those with different interfaces and formats.

My advice to anyone (Chris) building a machine is that you put in a single hard drive, install Windows 7, then finish you build. Anything more than that and it could become a real pain in the ass.

On the flipside, Windows 7 is actually running great. I installed Steam, a couple older games, all my apps, and it’s really humming along. Direct X 10 seems to be doing great, all the games look good, no performance hits compared to XP (which was an issue with Vista). I’m actually liking it quite a bit.

So, I wish I could say that the install was painless, far from it, but at least the actual day to day operation of the OS seems to be pretty solid.

Windows 7

by | Nov 10, 2009 | Aggravation, Tech

Yesterday I attended the Windows 7 launch party and developer seminars. The talks were rather interesting, the launch party was rather boring but the real meat and potatoes is that they gave everyone who came a full retail version of Windows 7 Ultimate. Happy I decided to go I left the event in the afternoon and hurried home with my copy of Microsofts newest operating system.

As far as I can tell, I had done everything right. I moved all important data off my C: drive. I backed up everything I wanted to save. I ran the Windows 7 “Upgrade Advisor” to see if there we any problems (which I didn’t list any). I downloaded all the latest Windows 7 drivers to the D: drive for easy installation after I was up and going. I felt I was ready. I put in the install DVD, restarted and booted from the DVD.

Instant BSOD.

I was obviously a little confused. This is a brand new OS, one that’s supposed to be low on resource usage, easy on hardware requirements and heavy on compatibility. Surely I had done something wrong. I restarted again.

Instant BSOD.

As soon as the Windows installer starts I get a bluescreen with the always awesome “IRQL Not Less or Equal” and the explination that nvstor.sys is causing the problem. Apparently nvstor.sys is a nVidia motherboard driver responsible for control over the SATA devices. It’s also been linked to graphics card problems, but I don’t think that’s the issue this time. Either way, it’s an nForce chipset problem. After searching nVidia’s website, they claim that it’s not their problem and that their latest chipset drivers are W7 ready. Microsoft doesn’t even acknowledge that the problem exists and various forums around the internet list it as anything from a RAM timing issue to motherboard features needing to be disabled to a general hardware problem that has no solution. Apparently the recommended process for troubleshooting is tearing your machine apart, removing everything except motherboard and hard drive and installing from there.

I fail to see how that is an acceptable solution. I’m of course going to try it, but it’s so ridiculous that I’d have to remove hardware to install an OS that it’s really beyond description. “I’m sorry sir, we’re going to need to take your engine out, your doors off and remove your stereo so we can rotate your tires”. WTF?!

I’m also going to try, but I don’t know why, to update my chipset drivers and bios. I also fail to see how updating drivers on a hard drive I’m about to format makes any sense at all, but what the hell, it’s worth a shot.

In case you’re interested, I started a thread on Microsoft’s Technet forums to try and get some input on the problem. I’m going to go home today and try updating the BIOS, just for giggles.

I have to say, this is actually kind of a huge disappointment. If I had purchased W7 right now, I would be outraged. Way to drop the ball again MS. Oh, and by the way, a “continental breakfast” at your events should probably include more than danish and burnt Starsucks coffee. Just sayin’.

Left 4 Dead 2

by | Nov 3, 2009 | Games

I just finished sitting down with the demo for Left 4 Dead 2 and I have to say that I’m not terribly impressed.

Unabashedly, I’m a huge Valve supporter. I have every single game they’ve ever made and enjoyed all of them. I hold Valve and their game franchises in the highest regards. That’s why it’s so hard for me to dog on L4D2, but I almost feel like I have to.

My biggest complaint with L4D1 was that it was too short. Valve has always adhered to the “less is more” and “quality over quantity” theories of design, which is something I can appreciate. However, L4D1 was so short that I hardly felt that it had justified it’s full retail price tag. I played it over and over again with friends and inside of a month we had grown tired of it’s 4 measly campaigns. Yes, technically there are multiple levels per campaign but when the entire campaign can be finished in under 3o minutes, they barely even count as levels.

I have to admit that when I heard they were making L4D2, I wasn’t surprised that people were upset. The first game was so short, people had figured they’d continue it by ending levels down the line. While they’ve promised to do so, I don’t think even if they had one or two more entire campaigns to it, it’ll really be considered a full game even then. L4D2 will apparently follow in a similar fashion, with just a couple campaigns when it ships.

I’m sorry, but there just isn’t enough meat on the bone to get me to bite this time. Four more campaigns would bring the franchise to 9 total (4+1 original and 4 new). With a retail of $60 a piece, that’s 9 levels for $120. I’m sorry Valve, I love ya, but I just don’t see the value.

This compounds when you actual play the demo. The levels seem small, the textures and colors seems washed out, and the gameplay is identical even despite what Valve is trying to spin as large improvements. Yes, the zombies now take localized damage (legs, arms, head, can all be shot separately), but when you’re blasting away with a shotgun, it really doesn’t matter. I’m hitting legs, arms and head all at the same time. The zombie levels in CoD:World at War offered better locational damage. They also added melee weapons. While the sound of hitting a zombie in the head with a frying pan is humorous, it hardly take the place of a pistol with unlimited ammo, so picking one up is hardly a good move offensive power wise. They “added” weapons, sorta. They added models of weapons, but kept the basic selection the same. There’s now a pump-action shot gun, a nice chrome hunting shotgun and an assault shotgun. Guess what? They’re all still shotguns. You still are making a choice between shotgun or uzi, they just have a couple extra flavors.

So, they hardly changed the game mechanic, the outside daylight levels are boring and washed out and it’ll still be a short limited depth game. What exactly is the upside here? Oh, that’s right, it’s made by Valve, so it’s polished and almost perfectly executed, which is true. It’s as solid and as fun a shooter as you’ll ever find. It’s settings are awesome (Savannah, as a level, epic), it’s design is awesome, it’s characters are funny, all that good stuff. It just all comes back around to simple economics. A game with four levels compared to a game with twenty levels, for the same price, is hardly a comparison at all. It’s really a “one steak or a hundred hamburger” type of consumer decision. I’m not saying one is better than the other, I’ve certainly had my “I need a good steak” moments, but that’s what this is going to come down to.

As much as a love zombies, and as much as a love Valve, I just can’t make this one make sense. Unless I see some gameplay videos or some sort of mutliplayer aspect that just blows me away, I’m afraid that L4D2 is just going to have to go into the “wait for a sale” category before I bother picking it up. Hell, even Bungie realized with ODST that it couldn’t sell a 2 hour game for $60 so they threw in a new multiplayer mode and a whole second disk of Halo 3 bonus stuff. Come on Valve, prove me wrong. Show me that this is worth $60. Oh, and while you’re at it, where the hell is Half-Life 3? You’re obviously not busy making zombie levels, so let’s get to it fellas. Chop chop.